The Briefing Room » intellectual property and technology lawhttp://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room
Moritz College of LawFri, 09 Dec 2016 22:38:28 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.10Alumna finds rewarding career path in biotechnology intellectual propertyhttp://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/alumni/alumna-finds-rewarding-career-path-in-biotechnology-intellectual-property/
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/alumni/alumna-finds-rewarding-career-path-in-biotechnology-intellectual-property/#commentsFri, 21 Oct 2016 14:49:05 +0000http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/?post_type=alumni_news&p=6537Jessica Jamieson ’97 is reminded nearly every day of just how important the work she and her colleagues do in the patent department at Shire, a leading international biotechnology company that serves people affected by rare diseases and highly specialized conditions. As head of the Hematology Intellectual Property division, she sees how lifelong treatments developed by the company have helped individuals suffering from disease like hemophilia lead longer, more active lives.

“It is exceedingly rewarding to start supporting a project when it is in the early stages, when you don’t know whether the lead compounds are going to actually work, and to see that project develop over time to the point where it is eventually an approved drug,” she said. “Often with very serious diseases, especially with hemophilia, these drugs can greatly improve the patients’ lives, and that’s something that is incredibly rewarding to see.”

As the head of Hematology IP, Jamieson manages the company’s Factor Eight portfolio, which includes some of its most important biologic products. She manages a team of Hematology IP counsel and is responsible for working with outside law firms around the globe on clearance for their drug products to ensure they have freedom to operate. In addition to her day-to-day duties, Jamieson also sits on a large governing body for hematology, where she provides intellectual property support.

Somedays the workday starts early for Jamieson with conference calls to colleagues in Europe. Other times they end late with discussions with her Asian counterparts. Though the actual work varies from day to day, part of what makes it interesting is the competitive nature of the industry, she said.

“It is challenging and fun to help with the development of a product where there are a lot of close competitors and a lot of companies working with very similar technologies in the same space in a similar time frame,” she explained. “Generating intellectual property, making sure we have freedom to operate and can help keep those products on track and on time in a very competitive situation is challenging and also very rewarding. It takes a tremendous amount of strategic thinking and hard work by a lot of people.”

Becoming an attorney was always a possibility for Jamieson, who was inspired by her father, W. David Jamieson ’69. But although Jamieson has found a career she is both passionate about and finds intellectually stimulating, becoming a patent attorney wasn’t what she originally pictured herself doing after law school.

“I took an unusual path into patent law. I went into law school not even knowing about patent law, not knowing it existed,” she said. “Between college and law school I was in the Peace Corps and I actually entered law school thinking I would earn a law degree and then perhaps go into the diplomatic corps. It was actually the influence of two classmates who were going through law school to become patent attorneys that initially piqued my interest in the field. As they started to explain more about it, I thought it was really interesting. Over the course of my first and second year, I decided to make the change into what would be a very different career.”

Working with the faculty and administration at both the College of Law and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Jamieson was able to take a series of biochemistry classes in addition to her regular law school curriculum. She enjoyed the experience so much she decided to pursue a master’s degree in biochemistry after graduating with her juris doctorate.

“I always liked science, but I didn’t have nearly enough of a background in science to get into a master’s program, so it was on the great generosity of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and with great support from the College of Law that they allowed me to take some biochemistry classes in law school to let me figure out if I wanted to try to take that career path. After I finished law school, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry admitted me to the master’s program with the requirement that I take some additional back courses,” she said. “I took the bar and then essentially walked into an intensive biochemistry science program, which was an inspiring, challenging, and daunting task. It was a lot of work, but it was really rewarding.”

While many find their way to patent law as a second career, after going straight from law school into the biochemistry master’s program, Jamieson landed her first job as a junior associate at Darby & Darby, a well-known intellectual property practice in New York, following graduation. From there she moved onto Goodwin Proctor, where she specialized in pharmaceutical litigation. When she decided she wanted to go in-house to further specialize, she joined King Pharmaceuticals, which was later purchased by Pfizer.

Several years later, she took another look at her career path and decided to move back to the Midwest to be closer to family. When she was offered a position with Baxter, she leapt at the opportunity to join the Fortune 500 global pharmaceutical company based out of Chicago.

“I was looking for a new challenge and hoping to move back to the Midwest, and they offered me the position. I really liked the people so I joined their small pharmaceutical molecule side of the company and then switched over to the biologic side,” she said.

When Baxter eventually decided to split its operations, the biologic operations, which made up about 42 percent of the company, became Baxalta. As of this summer, Baxalta officially became part of Shire.

Jamieson said part of what she enjoys most about working for Shire is the supportive, encouraging atmosphere she walks into every day.

“Both companies are incredibly supportive of having women in these types of roles and I think that always makes for such a great environment,” she said. “I hope the work I do, and the work the other patent attorneys in our patent department do, inspires others, in particular women, in the long term to enter into the patent field.”

]]>http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/alumni/alumna-finds-rewarding-career-path-in-biotechnology-intellectual-property/feed/0Kaminski to discuss drones, consumer privacy at FTC workshop eventhttp://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-to-discuss-drones-and-consumer-privacy-at-ftc-workshop-event/
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-to-discuss-drones-and-consumer-privacy-at-ftc-workshop-event/#commentsThu, 13 Oct 2016 16:27:17 +0000http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/?post_type=faculty_news&p=6513The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is scheduled to host a Fall Technology Series workshop on Drones today beginning at 1 p.m. EST that looks at consumer privacy concerns surrounding the use of unmanned aircraft. Professor Margot Kaminski, an expert in the areas of cyber, intellectual property, and privacy law, will share her expertise on the subject as part of panel beginning at 3:20 p.m. that looks at how to address privacy concerns raised by the use of drones. Other topics set to be covered on today’s agenda include a panel on whether or not drones raise a unique set of privacy concerns, a presentation from the FTC’s Office of Technology Research & Investigation, and another presentation on consumer perceptions of drones.

]]>http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-to-discuss-drones-and-consumer-privacy-at-ftc-workshop-event/feed/0Kaminski selected to serve as Center for Democracy & Technology fellowhttp://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-selected-to-serve-as-center-for-democracy-technology-fellow/
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-selected-to-serve-as-center-for-democracy-technology-fellow/#commentsTue, 23 Aug 2016 15:08:35 +0000http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/?post_type=faculty_news&p=6339Professor Margot Kaminski has been invited to serve as a Fellow of the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) for 2016. A D.C.-based, nonprofit, public interest organization, CDT is a leading voice in global internet policy and works to advance the rights of the individual and the constitutional and democratic values of free expression, privacy, and individual liberty. CDT invites roughly 15 leading academics to serve as fellows each year. Kaminski will continue to teach courses at Moritz while holding the fellowship.
]]>http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-selected-to-serve-as-center-for-democracy-technology-fellow/feed/0Voter privacy in the age of Big Datahttp://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/events/voter-privacy-in-the-age-of-big-data/
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/events/voter-privacy-in-the-age-of-big-data/#commentsFri, 15 Apr 2016 15:08:16 +0000http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/?post_type=event_news&p=5893Ira Rubinstein, senior fellow at New York University’s Information Law Institute and former associate general counsel at Microsoft, will talk about his work-in-progress, “Voter Privacy in the Age of Big Data,” and other issues associated with the application of data analytics tools to the processes of democracy on Friday, April 15, at noon in Room 244. This talk is jointly sponsored by The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law’s program on Data Law, Ethics, and Policy and The Ohio State University Democracy Studies Program. Click here to register.
]]>http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/events/voter-privacy-in-the-age-of-big-data/feed/0Alumna protects intellectual property at Grouponhttp://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/alumni/alumna-protects-intellectual-property-at-groupon/
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/alumni/alumna-protects-intellectual-property-at-groupon/#commentsMon, 15 Feb 2016 16:46:09 +0000http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/?post_type=alumni_news&p=5653“I think being a trademark attorney is exciting and interesting,” said Erin Wright Lothson ‘08, intellectual property senior corporate counsel for Groupon. “There are so many brands that are extremely well known and immediately recognizable in any country, regardless of language. I decided this was an area I could really carve out a niche and specialize in.”

As an in-house attorney responsible for protecting an internationally known e-commerce company, Lothson has done more than just carve out a niche for herself as an intellectual property attorney. She’s now mentoring the next generation of leaders working to drive Groupon forward, and keep it at the forefront of the e-commerce marketplace.

Lothson is co-chair of the professional development committee for one of Groupon’s Employee Resource Groups – Women at Groupon. In that position, she helps manage the group’s mentoring program in addition to her day-to-day duties as senior corporate counsel.

“Part of the reason I decided to participate in this capacity was because I have had an immense amount of help from a village of people throughout my career. I strongly believe in mentoring. I personally benefit from it and I’ve had some really fabulous mentors so I understand how valuable it can be when the relationship clicks,” she explained.

“In my capacity with the Professional Development Committee, I derive a great deal of satisfaction from watching people grow. I have also had the chance to meet people in many departments that I otherwise might not cross paths with, so it has been rewarding to develop those relationships in the event that we need to work together in the future.”

But helping connect mentors and mentees is only one small part of Lothson’s responsibilities at Groupon. As intellectual property senior corporate counsel, she represents the company’s best interests on a wide-range of intellectual property issues.

“I am responsible for managing the trademark and copyright portfolio worldwide. I am also responsible for all non-patent IP issues, which include issues that implicate IP such as advertising clearance, search engine marketing, and search engine optimization, to name a few.”

In addition, she helps departments throughout Groupon manage the day-to-day legal issues that involve intellectual property.

Although it is a lot of responsibility, Lothson said she enjoys having the opportunity to work in so many areas.

“It makes it fun, interesting, and exciting. That’s part of what I love about it. When I worked for a firm, I was honing one particular skill set some days, usually trademark portfolio prosecution and management with occasional big-ticket litigation, but now I see a lot more variety,” she said.

Even during the busiest times of the year, like planning for the holiday shopping season and Black Friday sales, when any number of legal questions can come up that need her immediate attention, the ability to learn from those new challenges and work together with her colleagues to find the right answer makes it all feel worthwhile.

“We work very closely with the businesses and the various divisions, including Groupon Local, Groupon Goods, and Groupon Getaways, and there are always unique issues that pop up—like can I use this brand, can we offer that product, and how do we advertise those? It’s an exciting time, but also ever-changing and some of the things that come up are hard to anticipate. I’m learning new things every day and that’s what makes it fulfilling,” she said.

Overall, Lothson said the best part about her job is getting to help other people and the business accomplish their goals.

“I think from a big picture perspective, I like collaborating, I like advising, I like working with others. Now that I’m in this role, it’s immensely gratifying and highly stimulating. Many of the things I advise on are cutting-edge, and novel, and that makes it fun,” she said.

]]>http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/alumni/alumna-protects-intellectual-property-at-groupon/feed/0Kaminski testifies at U.S. House of Representativeshttp://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-testifies-at-u-s-house-of-representatives/
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-testifies-at-u-s-house-of-representatives/#commentsThu, 19 Nov 2015 21:02:28 +0000http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/?post_type=faculty_news&p=5463Washington, D.C. – Assistant Professor of Law Margot E. Kaminski testified at the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing entitled “The Disrupter Series: The Fast-Evolving Uses and Economic Impacts of Drones.”

Kaminski is one of the country’s rising experts on law and technology, and her work focuses on privacy, speech, online civil liberties, intellectual property law, and the legal issues raised by artificial intelligence and robotics.

In her House testimony, she spoke about the impact of drones on privacy. “For drones to be publicly accepted and fulfill their economic potential, citizens must be able to trust that their surveillance powers will not be abused,” she stated.

]]>http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-testifies-at-u-s-house-of-representatives/feed/0Drones as Disruption: Who Regulates What? Livestreamhttp://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/events/drones-as-disruption-who-regulates-what/
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/events/drones-as-disruption-who-regulates-what/#commentsTue, 03 Nov 2015 14:22:36 +0000http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/?post_type=event_news&p=5391Drones, or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), have arrived. Ranging in size from under a pound to tons, drones carry a host of technologies that can enable important work in fields ranging from environmental monitoring to newsgathering, from smart agriculture to law enforcement.

This conference, which takes place on Nov. 6, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in Saxbe Auditorium, brings together lawyers, policymakers, and technologists to address how domestic drones as a disruptive technology rupture and bridge existing regulatory frameworks. The goal is both practical and theoretical: to explore how technology drives regulatory development, while at the same time bringing important actors together in the same room to address how the parts fit together—and to identify where there are gaps.

Supported by the Center for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studies, Aerospace Research Center, Battelle Center for Science and Technology Policy, John Glenn College of Public Affairs, the College of Engineering, and the Moritz College of Law At The Ohio State University.

]]>http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/events/drones-as-disruption-who-regulates-what/feed/0Mixing science and the lawhttp://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/students/mixing-science-and-the-law/
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/students/mixing-science-and-the-law/#commentsFri, 14 Aug 2015 21:59:00 +0000http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/?post_type=student_news&p=5135Coming into law school with an undergraduate or advanced degree in the sciences may not be the norm, but several graduates and current students said it’s a helpful background to have as they pursue positions in a variety of fields, from health to corporate law.

John H. Heithaus ’12 is using his legal and scientific knowledge in patent law. He holds undergraduate degrees in biological chemistry and the biological sciences, as well a master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. That background, he said, has made him more conversant with his clients who are looking to protect their latest designs and innovations.

“There aren’t many people who can do the math or the chemistry, and still speak well and handle the patent applications and cases from all sides. That’s just the reality,” he said.

In his position, Heithaus works with his clients to secure and defend patents science on groundbreaking advancements. From the newest medical devices to pharmaceutical medications, Heithaus said one of the most exciting aspects of his job is learning what innovations are up and coming, long before they hit the market.

“I hear the new ideas and understand where the market is going years before everyone else. I know what new devices are coming out. It’s exciting because I have a little bit of an edge,” he said. “The other great thing is I often have the opportunity to help individuals who may just have a small business with a handful of employees and I can make a positive difference in those people’s lives. It’s really great being part of the whole process of innovation and driving the market. It can be a really rewarding experience.”

For Kristine Murphy ’13, who holds a biological sciences degree, a discussion with an undergraduate advisor ultimately led her to pursue a law degree and go on to work in health law.

“I had always intended to go to medical school, that’s why I originally chose a science major. I even took the MCAT at the start of my senior year, but by then, I knew I didn’t want to go to medical school anymore,” Murphy explained.

“I wanted to do something related to the health care industry. It was actually my undergraduate advisor who asked me if I had thought about law school and maybe becoming involved in the health care industry in that way,” she said. After spending a year working and interacting with attorneys in a clinic technology commercialization department, where she saw lawyers involved in hospital operations, she was set on making law school her next career move.

Murphy is now a member of the health care practice group at Jones Day in Cleveland. While she may not use the technical knowledge she gained from her undergraduate studies, she does use the analytical and writing skills learned while pursuing both of her degrees to navigate the ever changing field of health law.

“Just having a science background is what piqued my interest in health care. Now I do both transactional and litigation work all focused on working with health care providers, hospital systems, academic medical centers, and all sorts of entities involved in the health care industry,” she said. “Health care law is really developing and changing right now. There’s a lot going on and I think it’s a really good fit for people who like to continue to learn in a fast-paced field.”

2L Eleanor Celeste also hopes to pursue a career related to health law issues after graduation.

She holds an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University’s science in society program with concentrations in biology and feminist, gender, sexuality studies, as well as a graduate certificate in biohazardous threat agents and emerging infectious diseases, from Georgetown University.

Celeste has always been passionate about science, but when she moved to Colorado to work on Senator Michael Bennet’s campaign, he and his wife, who are both attorneys, inspired her to consider a career in the law.

“While both had a lot of pros and lots of cons about being a lawyer and the law school experience, they are the reason I ultimately decided to come to law school,” she said.

Looking toward the future, Celeste is planning to graduate early from Moritz to try and work on a political campaign during the 2016 election cycle after graduation.

“Ideally, and with my background, I would help with public health, health policy, and women’s issues. I would like to think I could do the security side of the bioterrorist threats,” she said. “And whether it’s through policy or eventually going into practice, whatever I do I would like to keep health in my practice.”

Celeste added that having an extensive scientific background prior to coming to law school seems to be a major advantage so far when it comes to talking with potential employers.

“I’ve been meeting with people, especially on the political side, who love that I have a non-traditional background for someone interested in the political science. It’s actually been a huge help. When I’ve talked to people about the 2016 cycle, it has been the one thing they continue to praise. I think it’s been a huge, huge benefit to have a nontraditional background,” she said.

“Ideally, and with my background, I would help with public health, health policy, and women’s issues. I would like to think I could do the security side of the bioterrorist threats,” she said. “And whether it’s through policy or eventually going into practice, whatever I do I would like to keep health in my practice.”

Although his career began in the sciences, 3L Drew Danielson is now hoping to use the skills and ideologies he applied while working in a laboratory to help businesses and other organizations solve their problems and better support their customers, employees, and communities.

After graduating from Arizona State University with a degree in microbiology, Danielson went to work for an Arizona state laboratory testing water and food samples, before moving on to work at a hospital lab helping with bench research.

Over time, however, his interests began to drift toward business. He discovered his passion for helping others in his community, something he had loved about the scientific field, could be easily applied.

That thought eventually led him to law school, where he is currently working toward a J.D./M.B.A degree.

“Around the crash I started getting interested in topics outside of the sciences. I had never really spent time thinking about the institutions and other formal structures that we have built up in society. In my opinion, businesses are a societal lynchpin; they create value and wealth through serving their customers, they provide their employees the dignity of work, all the while generating value for their owners. In essence, businesses attempt to facilitate transactions that make all parties involved better off. I decided that these individuals and entities – the builders, makers, and doers – were the customers I wanted to serve,” he explained.

“I spent some time thinking about where I felt I would fit in. I felt the law was a means for me to use my strengths to help businesses solve their problems, which according to Professor Douglas Whaley, is really what an attorney is supposed to be – a problem solver. I understand how important free market enterprises are to the health of a society, but if solving problems for businesses is what I want to do, I need to be able to speak their language and try to understand the problems they may face. That is why I decided to pursue a joint degree.”

With a combination of his scientific background as well as the legal and business education, Danielson feels he will have a broad perspective that will allow him to think not just as a lawyer or businesses person, but a combination of both.

]]>http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/students/mixing-science-and-the-law/feed/0Kaminski writes for The New York Timeshttp://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-writes-for-the-new-york-times/
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-writes-for-the-new-york-times/#commentsTue, 14 Apr 2015 14:34:54 +0000http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/?post_type=faculty_news&p=4531Assistant Professor of Law Margot E. Kaminski, one of the country’s rising experts on law and technology, wrote an op-ed for the New York Times on why the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks should not be kept secret.

“Congress is soon likely to consider whether to authorize an up-or-down vote on a trade deal, with what’s known as ‘fast track’ legislation. Free trade now involves dozens of areas with complex subject matter, and the agency responsible for negotiating it often fails to tap key expertise,” she writes. “The discussion over the trade negotiating authority is not a question of which is better: the executive branch or the legislative branch. It’s a question of whose input we’re getting on decisions that reach far beyond trade — into questions on the price of generic drugs or whether websites will have to monitor users online.”

]]>http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/kaminski-writes-for-the-new-york-times/feed/0The Future of Internet Regulationhttp://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/events/the-future-of-internet-regulation/
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/events/the-future-of-internet-regulation/#commentsFri, 20 Mar 2015 15:35:54 +0000http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/?post_type=event_news&p=4423The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently issued its much anticipated order on “Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet.” The rulemaking drew more than 1.1 million public comments. Why? Because the Internet is the central communications medium of our time. It presents unprecedented opportunities and challenges in virtually every domain of social, economic, political, and cultural life. How governments respond to this issue will have enormous impacts.

Tom Wheeler, chairman of the FCC, will present the opening policy keynote at “The Future of Internet Regulation,” a public symposium hosted by I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society, on March 27, 2015, at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Following Chairman Wheeler’s speech, panels of distinguished academics will discuss such critical issues as net neutrality, Internet freedom, and the future of Internet governance. The day will conclude with a lecture by William Dutton, formerly the founding director of the Oxford Internet Institute. Admission is free, and lunch will be provided to advance registrants. For more information, visit http://www.is-journal.org. To register click here.